Previously, many types of wheel covers have been used to provide an effective means to alter the design, style or finish of vehicle wheel to enhance its appearance.
The prior art listed below did not disclose patents that possess any of the novelty of the instant invention, however the following U.S. patents are considered related:
U.S. Pat. No.InventorIssue Date5,636,906ChaseJun. 10, 19975,795,035FullerAug. 18, 19986,010,196Wang et al.Jan. 4, 20006,247,760KinoshitaJun. 19, 20016,402,253Nunes et al.Jun. 11, 20026,409,277Nunes et al.Jun. 25, 20026,672,678NunesJan. 6, 2004
Chase in U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,906 teaches a composite vehicle wheel having a disk, a rim circumscribing the disk, and an ornamental metal-plated plastic cover that is attached to the outer surface of the disk. The cover has a pair of oppositely disposed surfaces which form interior and exterior surfaces of the cover, with the exterior surfaces chrome plated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,035 issued to Fuller is for a wheel cover that simulates a machined cast wheel and that is formed by stamping a blank from a sheet of metal. Windows are spaced about the cover and a marginal circular periphery is formed as a flange.
My U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,010,196 (Wang et al.) and 6,402,253 (Nunes et al.) disclose a simulated chrome plated vehicle wheel that covers a conventional wheel with a thin chrome plated wheel cover. The wheel cover is formed of a plastic substrate having a contour that includes identical contours and surface patterns of the wheel. The cover is attached to the wheel with fasteners and a wheel clip.
Kinoshita in U.S. Pat. No. 6,247,760 teaches a wheel cover having a body with a plurality of elastically deformable hooks projecting from the rear of the cover body. Each hook engages a spoke of the wheel, and each hook includes a plastic body and a metal piece which is connected to the plastic body. The metal pieces of two adjacent hooks are integrally connected to each other by a metal plate.
My U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,409,277 (Nunes et al.) and 6,672,678 (Nunes) disclose a vehicle wheel cover having a design replicating a conventional wheel while encompassing the lug nuts. The wheel cover includes a number of fasteners that clip onto the peripheral edge of the vehicle wheel, thereby simulating the appearance of a chrome plated wheel.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention is related reference may be made to the remaining cited patent issued to Nunes et al. in design U.S. Pat. No. D445,750.